Of satisfaction and annihilation

The river flows.

the young boy
with curly hair on top of his swarthy and frail body
whose collarbones and ribcage protrude,
whose guts eat themselves out of crave,
feels the cold gush
in his mouth and throat

The river flows.
the middle-aged mother
with slanted, inscrutable eyes planted on her fair face
whose family got eaten by the enormous waves,
whose heart endures the aching and longing,
recalls the sight of lifeless bodies
skin swollen and wrinkled